Are there any simple key things to look for in a good design? (If I say balance – what would that mean?)

Here’s today’s question of the day… and my answer…

Balance is definitely one of them – and this simply means that the design doesn’t feel too heavy/light in any area. That there’s a good rhythm to the visual elements.

Appropriate use of color. The color palettes they use could be refined or outlandish – either can be appropriate depending on who/what the design is for.

Details. Does it feel like there’s a good scale on the details in the design? Like there’s some attention paid to the small stuff?

Alignment. Good design is often done on an invisible grid. You want things to be aligned and not “just a little bit off” which can look clumsy.

Consistency between pieces. If I’m doing a design for one particular thing, say, Midas Camp, I’m going to make sure that the design for the website matches the social media images, the PowerPoint presentations, the email headers, the promo boxes we use in the newsletter, and so on. That the same fonts, colors, visuals, etc. are used… but always in an appropriate way for each format. This creates repetition and a general good feeling for the user.